The ability to pick and choose your music collection through an online music store is great. Shelling out $13 for a CD where only two or three songs are to your liking is not our kind of deal – hence the popularity of online music stores. However, what about the users without broadband or those people that still do not have a CD burner? That’s where Wal-Mart wants to capitalize. Now you have the option to pick and choose what songs you want on a CD and have Wal-Mart burn the CD, pretty it up with nice graphics, and mail it out to you. All this for a price of $4.62 for three songs, and 88 cents for each additional song with shipping set at $1.97. This is a nice alternative for some - we will stick with Russia for our music.

Advertisement

After a very long wait, software has finally caught up to hardware. Well at least when it comes to Microsoft. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition has been shipped on Monday. These operating systems are set to function on AMD’s and Intel’s 64-bit microprocessors and cost the same as the 32-bit versions of the OS. Finally we get a Windows tailored to the chips, but early adopters beware. Since this is basically a re-write of the OS, all the drivers need to be re-written as well. This means that even thought the OS comes with over 16,000 drivers there’s a chance there will be at least one driver you need and cannot find. Check the OS out and tell us what you think.

Will Poole, Microsoft VP, confirmed on Wednesday that the controller of the Xbox 2/360 will be compatible with Microsoft’s next operating system, Longhorn. Just how it will be used on the PC has yet to be known. Will the next Xbox blur the lines between home entertainment and personal computer just like Mr. Gates dreams? Sure seems like it. Needless to say, we will not know for sure just what role the Xbox 360’s controller will play in the next Microsoft OS for possibly months to come.

Latest Gear Live Videos

Yahoo has launched a test version of their latest search offering – My Web. These tools will allow users to save, search and even share any information they find on the Internet. What I find very interesting about this service is that Yahoo is incorporating these tools to its instant messenger and its new blog service. This will allow users to share, comment, and even subscribe to search information of other users – building a community devoted to finding information of a specific theme. The stored search history and pages can even include notes to remind you what the page consists of or simply to jot down ideas based on that web page. The services are currently being tested, but as soon as they are released to the public, Yahoo will make their API available to developers so that they may include the web tools in their next project.

In case you’ve missed the newest Madden commercial, here it is. EA Sports is showing off their next gen Madden on their web site along with five beautiful screenshots of the game. This is all to show off what the next generation consoles can do and to get us drooling in anticipation for the coming weeks. If you missed the commercial during the NFL draft, then head on over to EA Sports and check it out – remember to wipe after you’re finished.

So it seems that the PSP browser is easily the most popular PSP mod/hack to date, but just how do you go about setting up that infamous web portal? Thanks to engadget’s recent How-To Hacks contest, anyone can set up a web portal for their PSP by following the recipe. Be warned, this tutorial is a long read, but that’s a good thing since that means more detailed instructions. So go ahead and make your own web portal so you too can browse the web and read the latest gaming news and previews on Playfeed all from the comfort of your beloved Playstation Portable.

German electronics giant Siemens is planning to doing away with their mobile division. It seems that the approximate loss of almost $2 million a day, which can be attributed to the mobile division, is reason enough to justify its sale. So far none of the other popular mobile companies (LG, Motorola, Nokia, etc.) seem interested in investing in Siemens technologies.

Designed at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, DETECT can tell if it is necessary to pull a player out of a game - or if it is okay to send them back in - as it can identify a concussion in a matter of minutes. It is certainly revolutionary, as it can be hard to tell right off hand. Its creators also hope to start testing it at the Georgia Tech football games next season. The DETECT devices will likely run between $500 to $1000.

The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act has been signed and approved. This act is to reduce/eliminate the amount of piracy of pre-release movies, music, games, etc. The act itself is very concrete in stating that even if you have one pre-release file in your shared folder, whether you downloaded it or not, you are subject to fines and prison time for up to 3 years. It does specify that it pertains to files being prepared for sale in the US. As of right now, it’s not clear on how this act will pertain to people who re-distribute TV shows and movies from other countries.

“The protection of intellectual property rights is vital to the movie industry,” said Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who joined Bush for the signing ceremony. “This bill is necessary to ensure that all those involved in the production of a film, from the director to the set carpenter, are not cheated.”

NEC has announced that they will be provided eDRAM for the next generation Xbox system graphics system. This partnership is a great step for the Xbox because this partnership will help provide incredible graphics and great High-Definition content.

“The next generation Xbox platform will provide gamers with a highly advanced graphics experience,” said Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president, Xbox Product Group. “NEC Electronics’ cutting-edge embedded DRAM technology plays a vital role in enabling our graphics engine’s performance, while its manufacturing process provides a reliable resource that can deliver the volumes required to support what will be an extremely popular gaming platform.”